Another change in the weather is on the way

Clicking the pics will expose you to a bigger pic.

I've noticed these girls jump over flowers, pictures of butterflies, and Unicorns. I think if guys were doing the jumping, we would jump over cactus, scorpions, and hives of killer bees, just to make it more interesting.

Looking at the long-range weather forecast, it seems like there's a cool front going to be coming through Arizona around the middle of next week and last for two or three days. It's supposed to be windy, Daytime highs in the 50s, and there will be a couple of nights when it's supposed to get down to about freezing.

I checked the weather forecast in other parts of southern Arizona, and It doesn't look like it's going to be much better anywhere else. So instead of packing up and trying to find a place that's slightly warmer than it will be here, I'm thinking of re-upping for another week and just riding it out in Tucson.

And speaking of riding,  [how about that for a segue?] a new Hunter Jumper contest will start Tuesday, that's exactly like the one that's going on now, except it has a different name. And then next weekend, they're supposed to have what I call a "dirty Hunter Jumper event" where instead of riding in a nice clean, well-prepared arena, they ride cross-country here at the Fairgrounds and jump over fences,  water jumps and things like that. And since there's a chance somebody might get muddy, that sounds to me like more fun to watch than these immaculate, meticulous, cookie-cutter riders that are competing now.

Extending my stay here at the Pima County Fairgrounds for another week will leave me here till the beginning of March, and March is kind of the kickoff to the spring flower season. So then I will have to figure out, based on whether or not it's going to be a Super- Bloom as to where I should go.

Theboondork

I finally figured out that not everybody's jumping over these small jumps, sometimes they set the bars much higher... And that makes it more interesting to watch.

Having three totally separate arenas where these folks are competing, didn't make figuring that out any easier.

This is kind of a big event in the horse world, and a couple of different helicopters would buzz around during the day, I assume taking pictures.

And I failed to mention at the beginning that this Hunter Jumper competition goes on for  a month. With each of its four events lasting for five days, with a two day rest before each new five day event.

That must be very tiring for everyone concerned.... And the amount of horse manure produced is incalculable.

It was chilly enough on some of the mornings that the horses needed a blanket... Nobody ever offered me a blanket.

This competition would be more interesting to watch if it were held in Michigan in the snow. But I think most of the spectators and participants had much rather be in a place that looks like this in the middle of February.

I wonder what the Hunter Jumper judges would say if a girl showed up wearing a cowboy hat?.... I think they would say Yeeeee haw!!!

Besides my duties of cleaning stalls when I was in high school, since it was a Hunter Jumper boarding stable that I worked at, I also had to build and repair the jumps. Nothing fancy, in fact if you removed the flower boxes from this jump, this would be the kind of thing I was building.

There's lots of socializing going on, as well there should be, because they all have a love of horses in common.

Sunset at two of the Hunter jumper courses.

It's all quiet now. The photographers have gone, the spectators have left for home, and the riders are taking care of their horses in the barns. Nothing is left on the field except the tears, and broken dreams of the competitors.